


Out There

by Geekygirl24



Series: Marvel OTPs [27]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) Fusion, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2020-06-24 22:26:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19733002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geekygirl24/pseuds/Geekygirl24
Summary: Clint was always told to stay with the circus, not matter what. The arrival of SHIELD may throw a spanner in the works though.





	1. Chapter 1

SHIELD was a quiet building, the silence only punctured when there was an emergency… or when there was a new piece of gossip making its way up the grapevine.

Coulson was ignoring this gossip however, focusing on his paperwork.

And then there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

Four of the junior agents slowly made their way inside, straightening up instantly when Coulson glanced at them.

“I assume you four have a good reason for loitering outside my office for half an hour before having the courage to knock. You should really get into the habit of knocking immediately…. Looks good on a confidence evaluation.”

Silence.

“If you don’t have any questions, then you’ll need to leave. I don’t have time for idle chit-chat.”

The junior agents all glanced at one another, before a confident brunette woman stepped forwards. “I’m sure you’ve heard the recent rumours sir… we were merely wondering if there was any truth to them?”

Ah the rumours… that the notorious thief and assassin, Hawkeye, was nothing but a circus brat…. All because of a few posters that had been posted around the city, advertising a famous archer who ‘never misses’.

The reason for the rumours, were that the image of the archer, was highly similar to blurred photos and footage they had managed to capture of Hawkeye.

“The rumour regarding Hawkeye and the local circus is a possible angle we are investigating…. One that is above your security, which means that is all you are going to hear.”

The junior agents all glanced at one another, frowns on their faces and questions clearly still on their minds…. But they were obedient, so they simply saluted and let Phil excuse them, waiting until the door closed before continuing on with their gossip.

Once he was sure the agents were out of earshot, he reached into his drawer and pulled out a rather thin file with CLASSIFIED stamped across the top. Opening it up, he focused on the photo inside, frowning at the blurred quality of it.

If he ever met this man on the street, he wouldn’t recognise him from this photo.

Pushing the photo to one side, he then turned his attention to the scraps of information they’d collected over the course of the investigation… which was barely anything.

There was one thing that caught his attention though.

ACTIVE: Approximately fifteen years.

This was slightly disturbing… even with the blurriness of the photos and video footage, it was clear that the mysterious Hawkeye wasn’t very old, in fact, he couldn’t have been more than thirty.

Was it possible that Hawkeye was not a completely willing participant in all of this?

He needed to speak to Nick.

……………………………………………………………………

“You have got to be kidding me.”

Phil resisted the urge to roll his eyes as Nick glared at him, “Just listen to m- “

“- You think you can just walk in here and claim Hawkeye, the number one assassin on our ‘got to catch’ board, might not be willing? That we might be able to rehabilitate him?!”

“If the man is unwilling, then I think he’d be a good asset to the Avengers…. Expert marksman with the skills to infiltrate some of the most secure buildings in the world. Natasha will love him.”

“Widow is still fuming over the fact that I pulled her off the mission to capture the Hawk…. But she would have needed another three months to capture him, and we didn’t have that time.”

“Sir…” Phil took a deep breath, “… all our sources put Hawkeye as being young when he started, younger than sixteen. With the level of skill there, then there’s no way he was working alone… and if that’s the case, we have to wonder whether or not he was pressured into it!”

“You make it sound so black and white Cheese… “Nick frowned, “… Kids can be bad eggs too. He might be loving this.”

“At least let me find that out for myself Sir.”

There was a brief moment of silence, before Nick sighed wearily and nodded. “Alright… but if this all goes tits up, then it’s on you.”

“Understood Sir.”

…………………………………………………..

Clint yawned as the sun peeked up over the nearby buildings, shining through the cloth of the tents, causing the colours to dance over his thin blanket. Listening to the sounds of the rest of the circus slowly waking up, he quickly grabbed some sweatpants and rushed to the nearby oak tree, clambering up the branches eagerly.

Up in the top branches, safely covered by leaves for shelter, lay a tiny nest, with a small white bird inside. Upon seeing Clint, the bird chirped happily.

“Good morning…” Clint whispered, “… will today be the day? Are you ready to fly?”

The bird didn’t look very eager, or so Clint thought, “You sure?” he asked, “It’s a good day to try.”

Gently lifting the bird into his hands, wrapping his legs around the trunk of the tree, Clint held his hands and the bird over the ground far below. “If I picked a day to fly, this would be it. We’re doing the Festival of Fools today, with the jugglers, and music and dancing!”

Whilst he was describing the different activities, he started to lightly bounce his hands up and down, encouraging the bird to flap its wings and fly. Once it was continuously flapping and up in the air, Clint moved his hands out from under it and grinned.

After a few seconds, he quickly placed his hands back under the bird and caught it as it stopped flying, just as a flock of birds flew past. As they did, the small bird chirped again, almost following the flock with his head.

Clint couldn’t help but smile, “Go on…” he urged, “… no-one wants to stay here forever.”

Almost immediately, the bird flew after the flock, leaving Clint alone in the tree.

“And here I thought he’d never leave.”

Clint chuckled glancing down at Hugo, one of the clowns of the circus…. And a master of disguise. Useful for their stealthier… missions.

“Don’t stay out here too long… I think Trickshot and the Swordsman were looking for you. To go over the plan and everything.”

“Right…. Yeah.”

At the downtrodden look on Clint’s face, Hugo sighed. “It’s a big city out there… it’s not too late for you, you know.”

“It kinda is you know.”

“It is for me and the others… but you’re a smart kid. You’ve still got a chance to make something of yourself.”

Silence.

“Take it from me Clint, life’s not a spectator sport. If watching’s all you’re going to do, then you’re going to watch your life go by without you!”

“… Trickshot will kill me if I try and leave.”

Hugo winced, “When he says you’re forbidden from ever leaving the circus, except in a coffin… does he really mean that?”

Clint’s expression said it all.

“You know… there are a lot of government agencies that will take you in. You just sneak out- “

“- Nooooooo- “

“- you find one of these agencies and you ask them for help!”

“And then what? Hide away for the rest of my life?”

“Clint… nobody wants to stay here forever.”

Clint thought to himself for a few moments, before a smile crept across his face, “Alright, I’ll go… I’ll get cleaned up and I’ll quickly sneak out and- “

“- and you do what?”

Clint winced, turning to face the Swordsman, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

“Sounds like an interesting conversation.” The man sneered, “Care to share… Hugo?”

Hugo hung his head, shaking and shuffling backwards.

“That’s what I thought… don’t think I won’t be speaking to the Ringmaster about this.”

With Hugo gone, the Swordsman turned his attention back to Clint. “You should be practicing for the show today…. You know how we don’t tolerate lateness around here.” His hand then darted out, and within seconds, Clint was pinned on the ground.

“You really think you can just leave Clint?” The Swordsman hissed into his ear, “Really?”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Not wanting to wrench Clint’s shoulder completely out of its’ joint, the Swordsman backed off, sneering down at the body on the ground. “This is your sanctuary Clint… you will do well to remember this. Now… go to practice.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Tony groaned as he was dragged through the streets. “A circus Stevie? Really? Of all the things to do in New York, you want to go to a circus?”

“Agent Coulson suggested it to me.” Steve stated eagerly, gesturing at the man walking beside him, “I used to love the circus before the war. Me and Bucky would- “He cut himself off, a sad look flashing across his face, before the ‘media’ smile appeared again, “- Anyway, it’s just this one time, and then I promise, I won’t ever drag you out to one again.”

He then glanced around and frowned, “I can’t believe they’ve changed everything though.”

“Funny what 70 years will do…” Tony muttered, before gesturing eagerly at a ‘test your strength’ machine, “… win me a teddy?”

“No Tony… No.”

…………………………………………………………………………………

Balance on a tight-rope that was 30 feet in the air, flip off it and hit all targets indicated to him by the Ringmaster and trust that he would be caught.

This was not a day to piss off the trapeze artists.

“The crowd holds its breath as the amazing Hawkeye carefully makes his way out to the middle of the rope, without the promise of a safety net.”

Yes, at the moment, he was attached to a harness, but during the big act, one wrong move and he was a messy splat on the floor.

Taking a deep breath, he prepared to make the shot…. Only to have a knife fly past his face, narrowly avoiding hitting his nose. With a yelp, he wobbled ferociously and fell off the rope, the harness catching him as he hung in the air, the breath leaving him in one fell woosh.

“We’re thinking about adding knives to the act.” The Swordman called out from down below, “Adds a little danger to the programme.”

Beside the older man, Trickshot sniggered up at him.

“O-Okay.” Clint tried not to sound too scared… it gave them ammunition after all, “Sounds good! Although, I think that- “

“- Thinking?” The pair burst out laughing once again, with the Swordsman shaking his head, “Not exactly your strong point, is it…. No, it’s ours. And where would you be without us?”

“…. On the streets.”

“Precisely. And it’s a cruel, cruel world- “

“- for someone like me.”

Trickshot and the Swordsman glanced at one another, before nodding in agreement.

“Get changed.” Trickshot ordered, “And stick to the plan, or there will be consequences… am I understood?”

“Yes boss.”

“Good boy.”


	2. Chapter 2

Steve’s eyes widened as they approached the Big Tent. “Wow.” He whispered, only to feel a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t get too comfortable Captain.” Coulson sighed, “We have some reliable evidence to suggest that this Circus is just a front for a criminal organisation.”

“…. And that’s why you suggested it to me?” Steve actually felt a little bit disappointed.

When Coulson remained silent, Steve resisted the urge to throw his hands into the air as he headed over to the others.

“Uh-oh…” Tony frowned, “… you’re wearing your ‘America has disappointed me’ face.”

“America has disappointed me.” Steve muttered, before forcing a smile on his face and straightening up, “C’mon. We don’t want to miss the big show.”

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Clint couldn’t help but grin as he scurried up the ladder to the tightrope that hung above the circus run, his purple mask and uniform clinging to his body. He could hear the excited chatter of the spectators and the band preparing down below. Taking a deep breath, he knelt down to wait for his cue.

He didn’t have to wait long.

“Come one! Come all!” The ringmaster cried out, the crowd falling silent, “Welcome to the Circus and welcome to our Feast of Fools! We will turn this city upside down! On this day, every man’s a king and every king’s a clown!”

The ring was now full of clowns and acrobats, all preening in the spotlight. Scanning the crowd, he could see other members of the circus pickpocketing those who were stupid enough to leave their wallets in their back pockets.

And then he saw him.

Clint almost fell off of his platform at the sight of the man as the spotlight moved over the crowd, searching for volunteers for the first act. 

He was older certainly, with his brown hair receding…. But he was competent. Wearing an average looking suit, he stared out at the performance. What he saw, Clint didn’t know, but it was clear that he wasn’t like all the other suckers in this place.

When the gaze turned in his direction, Clint winced and drew back into the shadows, not even daring to breath as the man never looked away.

……………………………………………………………………………………..

Coulson narrowed his eyes towards the top of the tent, sure that he’d seen some movement up there.

“And now!” The ringmaster drew his attention back done to the ground, “For some death-defying acts, from our amazing Hawkeye!”

Up at the top, a figure clad in purple made their way out onto the tightrope, and from there, Phil was transfixed.

Each movement that the man made was hypnotic. Every muscle was carefully controlled as he flipped and back-flipped on the rope… before deliberately falling off and shooting a tiny pea mid-air, quickly firing a zip-line arrow that slowed his fall back down to the ground.

He landed perfectly, and Phil felt he was the first to start climbing.

“He hit a pea!” Tony was calling out beside him, “He hit an actual pea!”

Coulson wasn’t fully paying attention to that though… all he could think about, was the fact that he’d finally found Hawkeye.

As Hawkeye bowed, the Ringmaster started to speak up again, “Yes, yes, yes… very impressive.” He wrapped an arm around the younger man, and it was obvious to see how the poor man tensed up at the contact, “Maybe our little archer would like to take part in the next act…. The clowns!”

The Ringmaster moved quickly to one side as the clowns all piled in… and started throwing rotten fruit at Hawkeye.

It was clear that the archer was over-whelmed by the amount of fruit, and it was also clear that nobody in the crowd was finding it funny. When the archer tried to get away, only to slip in the juice that the fruit produced and fall to the ground, the only ones to laugh were the two men standing on the outside of the ring.

“We have to do something.” Steve hissed, Tony nodded by his side, “This is just cruel!”

Bruce was starting to turn a little green at the sight, soothed only by Thor wrapping an arm around him.

“Indeed.” Thor murmured, “I do not believe this is humorous.”

When they all turned to ask Coulson for permission to step in, they frowned.

Phil was already making his way down to the ring.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

His hearing aid had fallen out due to his panic, and he couldn’t see from all the juice that was dripping down his face.

“Hey…”

He couldn’t help but flinch at the gentle voice and the soothing hand that was placed on his shoulder.

“Here.” A handkerchief was carefully placed in his hand, prompting him to clean his face as best he could. When he next looked up, he flushed at the sight of the handsome, suited man. The man looked like he was in complete control, but even Clint could tell there was something else behind those eyes.

“Sir!” The Ringmaster spoke up, “Please go back to your seat!”

The man didn’t look away from Clint, “I will… as soon as I’ve finished cleaning him up and then getting him out of here.”

“You are not going anywhere with him!”

The Ringmaster started to make his way over, only to come face to face with Tony Stark and Captain America themselves.

“Sorry.” Tony shrugged, “Can’t let you do that.”

Captain America turned and helped Clint to his feet.

“That boy belongs to me!” The Ringmaster snarled, “This was an innocent act, which you have ruined!”

“Didn’t look so innocent to me.” Tony glanced down, picking something off the ground, “Is this a hearing aid? Did you seriously just attack a man to the point where he lost a hearing aid?”

He threw it over to Clint, who caught it with a grateful smile.

“And I notice that no-one else was sticking up for him!” Tony turned to the other performers, “I know what people say about me, what they call me, but I’m still more human than you lot! This is unfair and unjust, and your asses should be sued to high hell!”

“Silence!”

“Justice!”

There was silence for a few seconds, before the Ringmaster eyed Clint angrily, “You think you can leave boy? You think you can just up and leave us?”

“I think he can!” Tony flung an arm around Clint’s shoulders, not even seeming to care that rotten fruit was getting all over his clothes, “He’s a smart kid, unlike some people I could name and shame.

Behind them, Coulson winced. This was getting out of control very quickly.

“We need to get out of here.” He muttered to Nat, “Now, if possible.”

“I’ll create a distraction.”

“Thank you.”

However, before Nat could move, Tony took action as circus men started to surround them. “Okay, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine… so’s there’s ten of you against the might of the Avengers? Seriously?”

One man stepped a little too close and grabbed Tony’s wrist, only to be blasted away.

“Ah, ah, ah… no touching.”

From there, complete and utter chaos broke out, as Clint struggled to break free of it all. As Iron Man taunted strongmen and contortionists alike (jumping behind Captain America afterwards), Clint backed away, towards the exit, only to yelp when his arm was grabbed from behind.

“I suggest you get back to your caravan, brat…” Trickshot hissed in his ear, “… Wait for me there. And I promise, when I’m done with you, you won’t disobey me ever again.”


	3. Chapter 3

“I can’t believe this.” Fury growled, watching as yet another clown was carried away on a stretcher, “It’s the damn circus! How did you all get into trouble at the damn circus?!”

“Hey, it wasn’t our fault- “

Taking advantage of Tony’s protests, Phil slipped away from the main group and snuck into the main camp of the circus, sticking to the shadows as best he could. Thankfully, after the fight that had just happened, nobody was really paying attention to the random suit wandering around.

“Excuse me, Sir?”

Well, almost nobody.

Phil slowly turned around, to see a large clown standing behind him.

“Are you- “The clown cleared his throat, “- are you here for Clint?”

“Clint… Hawkeye?”

“Y-Yeah.” Nervously, the clown glanced around, “Are you going to take him away from here? Far away?”

“If I can.” Phil pulled the clown over to the shadows, to make sure that no-one could see them, “Can you tell me anything about him?”

“H-He was just a kid when he joined the circus… him and his brother. When Clint showed that he had exceptional aim, well, they just had to have him and now- “

“- And now they won’t even think about letting him leave.” Phil sighed, “I’m assuming they make him take part in their… extracurricular activities?”

The clown hesitated for a few moments, before nodding, not wanting to say it out loud.

“Thank you. Just show me where he is, and I’ll save him.”

“T-the ringmaster didn’t like your interruption and he- “The clown cut himself off and shook his head, “- Clint usually goes to visit the horses after… after.”

There were any number of punishments that the clown could be referring to and Phil didn’t like the thought of any of them.

“It’s like prison here for him.” The clown whispered, “I think he’d probably prefer actual prison to be fair.”

“… Thank you.”

Following the clowns’ directions, Coulson headed towards where the animals were kept, darting behind some piled up boxes as a loud voice rang out.

“- And don’t make me tell you again!” The Swordmaster emerged from a tent, “Any more trouble from you, and we’ll be dragging you behind us to the next city!”

As the man disappeared, Phil spotted Hawkeye limping out of the tent, wiping at a bloody nose and gingerly touching a nasty looking black eye. As Phil stepped into view, the archer yelped and tried to make a run for it.

“Wait!” Phil called out. “I just want to talk to you.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Clint knew he wasn’t going to make it far, not after the vicious kicking he’d just received. But it didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try.

He just about managed to make it into his personal caravan before the suit appeared at the door, preventing it from closing.

“There you are.” The man didn’t seem to have broken a sweat, despite the warm weather and his outfit, “I thought I’d lost you.”

“Yeah, well I have chores to do so- so it was nice to see you… again.” Clint attempted to limp past the man to find another hiding spot to lick his wounds (possibly not metaphorically), only to have the man prevent him from leaving.

“My apologies, but I really want to speak to you first.” The man sighed, eyeing the bruises on Clint’s face, “Are you alright?”

“Y-yeah.”

“…. Your show was quite incredible you know. I’ve only ever seen that kind of skill in a notorious thief.”

Clint rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah… just arrest me.”

The man almost seemed to smile fondly at him, “Not yet. I prefer to know a little more about people before I arrest them like that on the spot. Why are you here with the way they treat you?”

Clint shrugged, “I… like the freedom. And what else could I do? I can barely read, these damn hearing aids give out every other week and I have zero social skills!”

“With eyes and acrobatic skills like yours, I can think of several organisations who would give their right arm and leg to hire you.”

“From thief to assassin…. Great.”

Coulson wanted to protest, only for Clint to wave him off. “I have work to do. The horses won’t feed themselves apparently.”

“I would like to see them.”

“… Fine.”

Coulson followed on behind, until they reached the stables. There, Clint went about his work, silently trying to ignore the suited man behind him.

“So, do they have any names?”

Clint resisted the urge to sigh, “Sophia and then Jeanne-Marie, Anne-Marie, Louise-Marie. They all had the same father, so we call them triplets.”

“And that big one at the back?”

Clint glanced at the Shire Horse, “Maurice.”

Phil smirked, “You don’t think about how big horses are until you see one up close.”

“I hope that wasn’t an attempt at a dirty joke.” Clint had to turn away to hold back his smirk though. 

As a few more moments of silence passed, Clint sighed. “Come on… you want to see something better than a dumb horse?”

He led the man up to the top of the hill they were camped at the bottom of, just as the sun started to set. At the top, Phil whistled in amazement and shock, “Wow…” the oranges, reds and purples seemed to have been painted on the skyline, “… I bet Stark doesn’t have a- “ He cut himself off, quickly realising that yes, Stark did have a view like that, but he didn’t really appreciate it, “- I could stay up here forever.”

“I really don’t think you’d fit in.” Clint chuckled, “Know any good tricks?”

“I manage a bunch of superheroes who act like toddlers.”

Clint chuckled, “With Stark, I imagine it was no easy task.”

“Hmmm.” Phil then turned to Clint, “You could come and meet him for yourself? Form your own opinion.”

Clint instantly seemed to know what he was trying to do and rolled his eyes, prompting Phil to sigh wearily.

“Alright… how did you end up here then? In this circus?”

“Bad childhood. Then my brother took me here, realised I was better than him and abandoned me.” Clint shrugged, “I was lucky they decided to keep me on. They could have left me in the next city.”

They both knew why the circus had decided to keep the young Clint.

“You can’t stay here.” Clint eventually sighed, “If they find out you’re here- “ He cut himself off and winced, “- Well, it wouldn’t be good.”

“You have a way out?”

From what Phil saw, almost every way into the camp was now guarded, a little too heavily for a simple circus.

How had they never been under suspicion before?

“Yeah…. You don’t mind heights, right?”

Phil frowned in confusion, only for his eyes to widen in realisation as Clint gestured up, where ropes linking the tents hung above them. He thought about it for a moment, before shaking his head, “No.” He stated firmly, “There’s an easier way.”

“An easier- “Clint cut himself off when Phil tapped his watch, holding it up to his mouth.

“Stark. I need a pick-up… now.”

Cutting off the call, Phil turned his attention back to Clint. “Come with me.”

“W-what?”

“Leave… with me, come to SHIELD.”

Clint shook his head frantically, “And end up on the wrong end of a sniper bullet? No thanks!”

“Fine, you should expect a visit from me in the future.”

“Here? There’s no way you’ll just be able to sneak- “

“- I’ll manage.”

“I have to actually train you know. You don’t become the world’s greatest marksman by just lying around and doing nothing all day.”

Phil stared at him for a few moments, before pulling something out of his inside pocket and handing it over to Clint, who frowned at the little card.

“This card will give you access to Stark Tower… in case you ever need help.”

“I- “

There was a flash of light, as something shot overhead, landing next to them with a thud.

“Taxi for Agent?”

Phil turned to Clint, scanning him from head to toe, before nodding at him. “Consider my request.” He asked, before allowing Stark to grab his hand and take off into the air, leaving Clint alone on that hill.

Clint glanced down at the card in his hands, before slipping it into an inside pocket, and heading back to camp.

Maybe one day.


	4. Chapter 4

Clint felt like his tent was a little brighter that evening.

All those stories about seeing Heaven’s Light when in love, might not be completely bogus after all.

……………………………………………..

The Swordmaster sighed wearily as he felt the warmth of the fire… today had not been a good day. The Ringmaster was furious at the day’s events, at how the crowd had turned against them, how the Avengers intervened, running circles around them all.

And what’s worse, there were rumours that one of the Avenger’s friends had escaped from the camp.

He needed to be found.

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Days passed, and there was nothing.

“There are a lot of men wearing suits in this city!” Protested one of the acrobats, “They all look the same! Middle-aged men, no distinguishing features… we just can’t find him!”

The Sword-master frowned, “We had the entire camp surrounded… someone guarding every exit. There was no way he could have escaped without being seen… unless.” He remembered the sound some members of the circus had reported the night of the disaster.

“Unless he had a little help.” He hissed.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

“Keep your head down Clint.” One of the acrobats reported, wincing in pain, “They’re not in a happy mood today.”

Clint frowned and nodded, not looking any of them in the eyes as he continued to sweep.

He would have been worried, but he knew Phil was probably two steps ahead of the Ringmaster and well out of harm’s way.

He really had nothing to worry about.

Phil had the Avengers after all… even if something did happen, they’d keep him safe.

“BARTON!”

Clint frantically dropped his broom and raced over to the sound, skidding to a halt and keeping his eyes on the floor.

Now was not the time to be a brat.

“Our organisation has been compromised Barton.” The Ringleader hissed.

Clint fought the urge to squirm at this.

“The last time one of those meddling… Avengers was seen, was in this camp. Nobody saw him leave, and yet he’s nowhere to be found. Not even twenty-four hours later and he was gone!”

Silence, as the man darted forwards and grabbed Clint’s wrist.

“I know you helped him Barton!” He snarled, “What? Was he kind to you?! Showed you affection, and you responded like a good little puppy?!”

“I- “

“- You really think he’ll be safe, that they’ll all be fine in that tower of theirs?” The Ringmaster smirked, “I control the largest team of thieves and robbers in the country! What makes you think I won’t be able to get in?”

“It-it’s the Avengers Tower! There’s no way- “Clint cut himself off as a vicious smirk spread across the Ringmaster’s face.

“Oh… I think you’ll find that won’t make a difference to us.”

…………………………………………………………………………

Clint paced back and forth in his tent.

“I have to warn them.” He muttered, “I can’t just let them get hurt.” He then stopped and frowned, “But what am I supposed to do… go there and rescue them from the jaws of death, like I’m some sort of hero? Like them?”

He thought about it for a moment more, before rolling his eyes, “I must be out of my mind!”

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

“Welcoming Clint Barton. Please make your way to the elevator.”

Clint flinched at the voice that seemed to come out of nowhere, heading where he was told to. Once inside, the elevator set off automatically.

“Umm... I need to speak to Agent Coulson?”

Silence.

“Please?”

The door opened up before he could ask again, revealing the stunned looks of the Avengers.

“Merida!” Tony called out, dashing forwards and grabbing Clint’s wrist, pulling him into the room, “I knew that extra floor I had decorated for you would come in handy!”

“I-I-I’m not here for that!” Clint yanked his wrist free, “I came to warn you! The Ringmaster says that he knows how to get in here and he’s going to- “

“- Impossible!” Tony interrupted, “This building has the best security in the city, there’s no way that they could get in.”

“Still….” Steve frowned, “… we should be cautious anyway.”

As Steve pulled Tony to one side, trying to convince the other man to up security just a little bit, Phil made his way over to Clint, smiling gently at him, “You took a risk coming here.” He whispered, “Don’t worry about Stark, he is grateful, I promise.”

“It was nothing.” Clint shrugged, “I just wanted to help.”

“And help you did!”


End file.
